Zpacks Hexamid Cuben Fiber Tent review

[Tony]

Zpacks Hexamid Cuben Fiber Tent review.

I finally found time to put my new Zpacks Hexamid Tent up, the Hexamid is made from super light 0.6 oz/ sq yard Cuben Fiber, with the tent I also ordered the optional door and a peg bag, the Hexamid came with comprehensive instructions but before I could put the tent up I had to cut to length and tie the guy ropes from the 10 meters of supplied spectra cord. The tent needs to be seam sealed and it came with a tube of Sil-net seam sealant which I still have to do.

I also had to decide on what I wanted to do about a tent pole, the Hexamid is designed to be used with a adjustable walking pole. The pole has to be 117- 119cm long, as I do not always walk with a pole I have been looking for a lighter alternative, fortunately the tent pole from my Tarptent Contrail was 117cm long, I am considering making a pole from carbon fibre, but this will take some more investigation.

Weights

Minimum configuration
Tent in storage bag 227.3g
8 Tent pegs in Cuben Fibre bag 74g
Total 301.3g

Full configuration
Tent in storage bag 227.3g
8 Tent pegs in Cuben Fibre bag 74g
Door 47g
Pole, Easton Aluminium 54.6g
Ground sheet, Polycro 47.3g
Total 450.2

After attaching the guy ropes I laid the tent out on the ground, I went inside to watch the setup video on the Zpacks site, in perfect conditions, it took about 3-4 minutes to fully put the tent up, for a first time it was surprisingly easy and the tent setup quite well and taunt. The door was also very easy and quick to put on.

I then placed my Thermarest Prolite 4 in side the tent to give some idea of its size, my impression is that the tent is quite roomy with enough room for all of my gear, I could comfortably sit up inside.

The Hexamid was also very easy to take down and pack away, much easier than my other tents.

I am unsure when I will be able to get away to field test the hexamid, I am hoping to do this before winter.

Tony



Hexamid unpacked un setup on ground

Front view no door

Rear view, note nice taunt back

With Prolite 4 sleeping mat

With netting door open

With optional door fitted

All packed up

[ninjapuppet]

WOW that thing is tiny!
good to see the weights were accurately listed on their website.
With this tent, i can go for a 3 day summer camp with only a day pack.

I immediately went to the zpacks.com site to order one after your review, but its unavailable for another 2 months !?!??!?!
I think one of my other tents has to go to make room for this one if its stable enough for light rain and 20kph winds.

questions:
1- Tony, so is that pole on the bottom pic not required if trekking poles are used?
2 - can you give me dimensions of that packed up tent?
3 - How sturdy do you think it'll be in the wind compared to your contrail?

[Drifting]

I'd love to be able to use that sort of thing in Tassie!

[Tony]

Hi ninjapuppet,

WOW that thing is tiny!
good to see the weights were accurately listed on their website.
With this tent, i can go for a 3 day summer camp with only a day pack.

I immediately went to the zpacks.com site to order one after your review, but its unavailable for another 2 months !?!??!?!
I think one of my other tents has to go to make room for this one if its stable enough for light rain and 20kph winds.

questions:
1- Tony, so is that pole on the bottom pic not required if trekking poles are used?
2 - can you give me dimensions of that packed up tent?
3 - How sturdy do you think it'll be in the wind compared to your contrail?

When I ordered my Hexamid was 6 weeks but actually took 8 weeks, unfortunately it came 3 days after my Easter trip, so I will have to wait a bit more to field test it.

1- Tony, so is that pole on the bottom pic not required if trekking poles are used?

It is designed to be used with a trekking pole.

2 - can you give me dimensions of that packed up tent?

I will have to do this tomorrow

3 - How sturdy do you think it'll be in the wind compared to your contrail?

From what I have seen and read and my experiences with the Contrail, I would guess that the Hexamid would be better in wind. The Hexamid can also be erected with the bottom of the tent fly on the ground, though it is designed to be a few cm above.

Tony

[Tony]

Hi Drifting,

I'd love to be able to use that sort of thing in Tassie!

I see no reason why the Zpack Hexamid tent could not be used in Tassie. I am so impressed with it that I am thinking about trying it out in the the snow.

Tony

[ninjapuppet]

I just opened up a packet of chips, and realised it not only seemed larger, but also weighed more than this tent!

on a second note, i read alot of not-so-good things about cuben fibre's fabric. We all understand that going UL has its gives and takes, but to hear how the zpacks backpack is only only designed to last 1 thru-hike is abit concerning!

[Tony]

Hi ninjapuppet,

I just opened up a packet of chips, and realised it not only seemed larger, but also weighed more than this tent!

on a second note, i read alot of not-so-good things about cuben fibre's fabric. We all understand that going UL has its gives and takes, but to hear how the zpacks backpack is only only designed to last 1 thru-hike is abit concerning!

Joe the owner of Zpacks lived in his prototype Hexamid tent for four months straight, 120 or so nights, that is many years bushwalking for me. If it makes my walking more enjoyable I would be prepared to buy one every 2-3 years. The Zpack pack is only 122g to last 2663 miles of use is still pretty good, though I would not use a cuben fiber pack for the bush bashing that I do, but it would be fine for walks like the OT and maybe even the AAWT.

Tony

[Robatman]

Hi Tony,
How does it feel with a mesh floor- I guess its strong but do you think it might be a little funny? Are you going to get some tyvek or similar to put on the floor inside?

[Tony]

Hi Robatman,

Hi Tony,
How does it feel with a mesh floor- I guess its strong but do you think it might be a little funny? Are you going to get some tyvek or similar to put on the floor inside?

The floor felt good, after the slippery silnylon floor in the Contrail I am looking forward to some grip.

I am going to try using GG Polycro ground sheet http://www.gossamergear.com/cgi-bin/gos ... cloth.html

I am currently researching the best way to stick two polycro cloths together as I want to make a custom fitting ground sheet for the Hexamid. I have been using polycro ground sheets for a few years now and I am still on the first one, it is tough stuff.

Tony

[Tony]

Hi ninjapuppet,

2 - can you give me dimensions of that packed up tent?

The dimensions of the packed up tent are 230mm long x 170 mm wide and by 150mm thick.

Tony

[Franco]

Just speculating here, but you can pitch the Contrail down to the ground too, and in this configuration you might just have a bit more protection than with the Hexamid.
Thre are several possible configurations in fact.
But, this is a biased view...




But, mine is a biased view...

Franco
franco at tarptent dot com

[photohiker]

I'm sure its a good tent and all Tony, but I can't get over the looks of it - like it came from the dollar store!

Still, if it works, you can't argue about the size or weight. Makes my Scarp1 look like a heavyweight.

[ninjapuppet]

Hi ninjapuppet,

The dimensions of the packed up tent are 230mm long x 170 mm wide and by 150mm thick.

Nice!............ Very nice.

too bad it is impossible to obtain one till mid year

[pok]

Tony-

Any updates on your hexamid? Have you used it much, and what do you think of it now?

And did you work out a solution for the ground sheet?

[Tony]

Hi Pok,

Tony-

Any updates on your hexamid? Have you used it much, and what do you think of it now?

And did you work out a solution for the ground sheet?

Thanks for the inquiry, I have actually not used the hexamid yet as it arrived the week after my last 3 season trip at Easter, since then due to illness I have not been able to get out until last weekend which was a snow trip where I used my 4 season tent.

I will do a update as soon as soon I have used the tent.

I have not done anything about the floor yet but have some ideas.

Tony

[ninjapuppet]

and what is, your 4 season tent?

Tony, you've got some really interesting cottage industry gear. Your recommendations have inspired me to get an Ayu, and the 2 iwanas today. wonder if they'll work in NZ because i'm starting to have doubts now.

Good to see you gotten over the illness. you can finally get back to the bush and give us more reviews now.

[Tony]

Hi ninjapuppet,

and what is, your 4 season tent?

Tony, you've got some really interesting cottage industry gear. Your recommendations have inspired me to get an Ayu, and the 2 iwanas today. wonder if they'll work in NZ because i'm starting to have doubts now.

Good to see you gotten over the illness. you can finally get back to the bush and give us more reviews now.

The tent that I am currently using for 4 season use is a modified 3 season Mountain Designs Nutrino 1.

guy rope mod

IMG_3022.JPG (165.95 KiB) Viewed 13068 times

The main mod that I did was adding two guy ropes at the back end, this has made the tent much more stable in strong winds, the other modification that I did which I do not have a photo of is I sewed some cloth over the mesh door on the inner tent, this has made the Nutrino warmer. Other modifications that I have planned is for two way zippers on the fly and inner tent door and a hood on the top of the fly door. The weight of my Nutrino 1 tent with snow pegs comes in at around 1750g.

As for the Tenkara's being suitable for NZ, they have their place, I believe they are not suitable for big trout not that landing a large fish on a Tenkara is possible but the fish would have to be flogged and probably not survive for C&R. I still have to use my Hane.

Last weekend I used my new pack for the first time, I will do a review of this pack soon.

Tony

New pack

IMG_3012.JPG (197.84 KiB) Viewed 13068 times

[ninjapuppet]

I heard the news report saying there were going to be strong winds in the mountains from last night till today, so I eagerly packed and headed up there after work friday afternoon to try out the hexamid in the winds. I was pretty confident of the hexamid since ive seen how stable it looks when tightened down with 8 guys, but trip was more to test out my new pegs: The vargo titanium 2 gram pegs.

At first, i was very skeptical if they really did weigh 2 grams as advertised. Even if they did weigh 2 grams, I would be skeptical about their holding power. They come in a packet of 6, and the 6 together weigh 11.9 grams! yep, they're exactly 2 grams each.

When choosing a campsite, i decided to climb up a ridge and find the most exposed, most illogical and most unsheltered location i could find. Man that wind was crazy! it was howling big time i could hardly hear myself talk. Got the kestrel wind meter out and was dissapointly only 24kph was registered. I do wish it registered something more like 60kph so i could have bragging rights but it wasnt the case.

anyway, the hexamid went up in about 2 minutes and i used the 6 light pegs + 2 pegs from the caldera (6g each). Everything tightened down with cordlocks and the thing was stable as anything. I did have a spare tent in case things got ugly, but the hexamid actually held very steady with the flimsy looking pegs. Strong winds picked up later that night so I estimate maybe up to 30kph and everything was perfect in the morning and not even 1 of the pegs had become dislodged.

Today, i decided to try another location, again as exposed as i could find. Setup around Mt solidtary and today had a few showers so the soil got slightly damp. the 2 gram pegs held fast again. without even any of them dislodging in the soft soil.
----------------------------

I am very happy about these new titanium 2 gram pegs and they performed much better than I expected. last night's conditions would definitely be windier than 90% of the camping i usually do for nsw summers so it looks like these 2 gram pegs are going to be a permanent match with the hexamid.

More importantly, it confirmed that the hexamid (while looking like a cheap toy) actually is a serious contender for UL backpacking.
I would like to thank tony for making everyone on this forum aware of such a tent. most of us here would not trust this tent enough to part away with $300.
However I do, and will continue to push it to its limits to know its true potential. A trip with this hexamid to the western Arthurs next may should catch people's attention and give it some more serious consideration.
I can sit upright inside, its got space for 2 people at a pinch, fully bugproof and weighs the same as any UL bivy on the market.

tent ........... 217g
zpacks guys.......9
seam seal........12
stuffsack...........5
8 stakes...........24
groundsheet......35
TOTAL = 302g


If prussik knots are used for the guys, then the cordlocks can be removed for minimal weight savings while retaining the convenience of easy setup.
If someone has b@lls then they can also try the 1 gram pegs..... (i'm still too chicken for that)

[Nuts]

I do like your adventures np.. The gadgets and gear you pull out are amazing!

I would imagine that you'd have the backup for the WA's? (besides the plb..) dont want too much 'attention'

[cams]

What did you use for ground sheet? The website says not to worry about the mesh floor because things just poke through instead of leaving a hole. That's all well and good except if you use a neo-air or similar.

[mtbarney]

we got to try out our hexamid duo for the first time on Mt Barney two weeks ago. It performed beautifully. We have the extended beak version which would prevent even blowing rain from getting in. The duo is only very slightly heavier than the solo version so I would use the duo for solo hiking as well. I have bought joes Blast 36 pack as well. With just two items ( tent and backpack) we have knocked 5.5 kgs off our base load!
My wife and I are in our sixties and haven chosen the ultralight route as the only way to go when the muscles are not as strong as they used to be. For us, luxury is light weight.
I showed a much younger hiking friend of mine the z pack gear. He was amazed, referring to it as hiking " lingerie". He was referring to the weight, not suggesting it was flimsy.
I have found the service provided by Joe Valesko to be superb. He has patiently answered by my frequent emails and provides an excellent range of products. I have just ordered a new EXO pack from him plus a -7 sleeping bag, thereby saving another 400g.

our packs for a four day hike, including 2 l of water and 4 days food are now down to 9kg, which we hardly feel at all.

[jeremy089786]

My hexamid duo tarp has been going strong now for about a year and a half and I have been super happy with it in a range of conditions. I just bought cuben/netting the inner net for it which I can't wait to get my hands on.

Joe by far has to be my favourite manufacturer. In the last couple of years I have bought a pack, shelter, WPB rain jacket, puffy layer, windshirt, rain skirt and soon a new sleeping bag +my remaining stuff sacks helping to cut my 3 season base weight from 12 kg to 2.9 kg. Means I can now run on tracks in flat areas and literally jump from rock to rock over river crossings.

[hikingoz]

My hexamid duo tarp has been going strong now for about a year and a half and I have been super happy with it in a range of conditions. I just bought cuben/netting the inner net for it which I can't wait to get my hands on.

Joe by far has to be my favourite manufacturer. In the last couple of years I have bought a pack, shelter, WPB rain jacket, puffy layer, windshirt, rain skirt and soon a new sleeping bag +my remaining stuff sacks helping to cut my 3 season base weight from 12 kg to 2.9 kg. Means I can now run on tracks in flat areas and literally jump from rock to rock over river crossings.

Hi Jeremy. Maybe this is off topic but can you please post some pictures of the jacket? I am a little intrigued. What is it like to wear? Do you get many looks from passerbys. A lot of the Z Packs gear seems a bit crazy in comparrison to the standard fare in Australia.

[stepbystep]

A trip with this hexamid to the western Arthurs next may should catch people's attention and give it some more serious consideration.

All the campsites except High Moor in the Western Arthurs are very well protected, maybe try some ridgetops on the Southern Ranges

[Gusto]

zpacks now to breathable cuben fiber jackets. They also sell the fabric too

[jeremy089786]

Hi abceight,

I have only recently bought it and have not as yet tried it out. Feels fairly nice and is super super light (a bit over 100g). I am planning to get out and about it in it in the next couple of weeks so will post a review then.

Cheers,

Jeremy.

[ninjapuppet]

zpacks now to breathable cuben fiber jackets. They also sell the fabric too

This new breathable cuben, is in its infancy and not so good yet according to Ron at Mountain Laurel designs.

Ron said, about the new WP/B cuben:
"Yes, it may have some applications- but for now I'm not going that way- the breathability is fairly low compared to the medium versions goretex's and certainly way lower than eVENT.- Maybe only 20-25% as good as the best eVENT. I could see in in a light a bivy bottom - maybe- it might add a few percent breathability over silnylon/reg cuben in some cases- but since it would be on the bottom and vapor mostly goes up -not much more really and if it were on the top it would be too low air permeability to breath well. Maybe an all WPB cuben one with head vent hole designed super simple as an elite alpine climber emergency bivy. I hope they keep working on it- it would be great if it was as good as eEVENT- MLD would build stuff with it immediately. Note also the price is about 2X regular cuben. In a small item, like mitts, it does not make sense- the most weight it would save is maybe .5oz- but would be only 25% of the breathable and less abrasion resistant and durable too."

[jeremy089786]

Indeed this material is in its infancy and I assume the breathability is lower than some other WPB fabrics. I do not think this is not the same fabric that Ron was alluding to as this is the second generation of WPB cuben and Joe was not happy to use the first generation for any of his products and a whole bunch of companies are now starting to look into this new material (for more info check out the discussion at: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin ... s#forumtop).

As for the weight savings, indeed this material would only cut a couple of grams out of mitts but cuts away over 200g (7oz) from my event jacket (though this does have a bunch more features). After saying all of this I will definately treat this jacket with caution until it proves itself.

As for some pics:









Sorry again about hijacking the thread, but I hope this helps.

Cheers,

J.

[Dale]

Jeremy - keen to hear how the jacket performs. I noted on Joe's site he recommends for usage in colder months so will be inetresting to test the 'breathability' in the current NSW climate. Also sorry to hijack. Maybe break this into its own thread

[Tony]

Indeed this material is in its infancy and I assume the breathability is lower than some other WPB fabrics. I do not think this is not the same fabric that Ron was alluding to as this is the second generation of WPB cuben and Joe was not happy to use the first generation for any of his products and a whole bunch of companies are now starting to look into this new material (for more info check out the discussion at: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin ... s#forumtop).

As for the weight savings, indeed this material would only cut a couple of grams out of mitts but cuts away over 200g (7oz) from my event jacket (though this does have a bunch more features). After saying all of this I will definately treat this jacket with caution until it proves itself.

As for some pics:

Sorry again about hijacking the thread, but I hope this helps.

Cheers,

J.

Hi Jeremy,

Thanks for posting I will be interested in how the jacket goes.

Tony